Jazz Philadelphia
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Hometown Hero: Suzanne Cloud
by A.D. Amorosi | photo by Anthony Dean Philadelphia’s Suzanne Cloud has maintained a life of making dynamic jazz and creating opportunities to benefit jazz, further jazz, and document jazz. So much so, on both sides of the ledger, that…
Read MoreHometown Hero: Tyrone Brown
by Suzanne Cloud | Photo ©sg koezle- info@jazzfoto.net Bassist and composer Tyrone Brown has been an all-around musical maestro in town for a long time. Leafing through the jazz listings of the last four decades in Philadelphia, it’s easy to…
Read MoreHometown Hero: Shirley Scott
by A.D. Amorosi There are certainly unique and flavorful totems of what it means to be Philadelphian: soft pretzels, cheese-steaks and everything Tastykake. You can get them baked and doled out in other towns, but they’re never quite as delicious…
Read MoreHometown Hero: Hasaan Ibn Ali
by Shaun Brady | Photo by Larry Fink For more than half a century, pianist Hasaan Ibn Ali has been the dark matter of Philadelphia jazz —a mysterious force whose presence has been felt more through his influence on others than…
Read MoreHometown Hero: Jonathan Whitney
By Shaun Brady | Photo by Palmer Swanson Jonathan W. Whitney’s earliest memory is of a drum set arriving at his childhood home in Newark, Delaware. “It was a gold Ludwig set,” Whitney says, a trace of wonder in his…
Read MoreHometown Hero: Yesseh Furaha-Ali
by Shaun Brady | Photo by Richard Conde When you grow up as the youngest of seven children, you quickly figure out how to set your ego aside. Saxophonist Yesseh Furaha-Ali learned that lesson as a child in Upper Darby,…
Read MoreHometown Hero: Uri Caine
By A.D. Amorosi | Photo by Bill Douthart When Uri Caine speaks in his deep, low voice, each phrase unfurls with rich, diverse, all-inclusive information. In a fashion, it’s as if the Philadelphia-born pianist and composer is looking to get…
Read MoreHometown Hero: Justin Faulkner
By A.D. Amorosi Jazz and community. Jazz and activism. Jazz and family. These aren’t just words for West Philadelphia drummer, composer, and educator Justin Faulkner. They’re life lines, ideas on which to act, interact and intercede, to work toward, play…
Read MoreHometown Hero: Reggie Workman
By A.D. Amorosi | Photo by Frank Schindelbeck Reggie Workman is a busy man, just as busy now at age 82 as he was when he was 22 playing on records by Donald Byrd, Eric Dolphy, or his fellow Philadelphian,…
Read MoreHometown Hero: Bobby Zankel
By Suzanne Cloud | Photo by Anthony Dean Composer and alto saxophonist Bobby Zankel never expected to stay in Philadelphia when he blew into town in 1975. “I thought it was going to be temporary. I didn’t think I was…
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